Abstract

Traditionally, the Wingate anaerobic power cycling test (WAPT) has been administered while test subjects remain seated. Various researchers however, have suggested that allowing subjects to perform the test in the standing position may increase power output. The purpose of this study was to determine whether female athletes are able to generate more power when standing up during testing, rather than remaining seated for the entire test. 15 female athletes performed two 30 s WAPT with resistance set at 7.5% body weight, one seated for the entire test (SEAT), and the other seated for the first 15 s, then standing for the final 15 s (SEAT-STAND). Testing conditions were randomized and separated by at least 3 d. Repeated measures of ANOVA testing, followed by paired sample t-tests as posthoc analysis revealed there was a significant decrease in power output (W) at 17 s (SEAT: 424.1 ± 66.4, SEAT-STAND: 379.6.0 ± 73.4) for the SEAT-STAND condition. Peak power (PP) (SEAT: 622.6 ± 149.5, SEAT-STAND: 634.2 ± 133.1), minimum power (MP) (SEAT: 309.2 ±50.5, SEAT-STAND: 301.0 ± 53.4), average power (AP) (SEAT: 441.2 ± 69.1, SEAT-STAND: 445.3 ± 69.1), and fatigue index (FI) (SEAT: 313.3 ± 120.0, SEAT-STAND: 333.2 ± 110.3) were not significantly different between the two conditions. The data indicate that power output decreases for several seconds when female athletes are allowed to stand up after 15 s of the WAPT. However, despite the one second drop in power during the SEAT-Stand condition, the average power for both conditions are not statistically significant. Therefore, female athletes should be required to remain seated during the entire WAPT.